High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation

Almost all tropical deforestation is related to the production of global commodities, but mapping this deforestation through satellite imagery is rare (oil palm and soy are the notable exceptions). Natural rubber ranks among these global commodities but its deforestation impact has proved difficult to measure: globally, 85% of natural rubber is produced by smallholders on scattered plantations which have proved difficult to detect through traditional satellite imaging due to their small size. Moreover, these plantations also have a very similar visual appearance to forest when viewed from space. Previous calculations of rubber deforestation have therefore used model-based data.

Due to recent improvements in the visual quality of Earth observation data, in this paper the authors were able to capture the smallholder plantations in their mapping and address the deforestation knowledge gap. Researchers used this data and cloud computing to generate powerful, high-resolution maps of rubber and its associated deforestation in Southeast Asia, where over 90% of global rubber is produced.

The mapping showed that forest loss associated with rubber production is more than two to three times greater than indicated by previous research has suggested: findings indicated that 14.2 million hectares in Southeast Asia were occupied by mature rubber plantations. Four million ha. of forest have been lost since 1993, the imaging shows – an area roughly the size of Switzerland. The researchers also discovered that more than one million ha. of rubber plantations have been established in Key Biodiversity Areas.

Given the severity of these findings, the researchers have called for more policymakers to give more attention to rubber production in domestic policy, trade agreements, and forthcoming due-diligence legislation. However, they caution that the livelihoods of the smallholders who produce the vast majority of global rubber must be considered carefully in any new regulations.